Johannesburg’s heavy music scene thrives in the shadows – and Lower Hollow clearly know how to move through them.
The band have returned with a bold new single: a striking, unapologetic cover of Type O Negative’s “I Don’t Wanna Be Me.” It follows last year’s Threnody: Songs Of Perseverance and signals another confident step in the group’s sonic evolution, with vocalist Kathryn taking a commanding position at the front of the mix. This isn’t a safe tribute. It’s a reinterpretation.
Lower Hollow is a Young Band with a Growing Footprint
Formed in 2022, Lower Hollow have wasted little time carving out space within South Africa’s heavy music landscape. In just a few years, they’ve released two full-length albums and built their reputation through extensive touring across the country.
Their sound leans immersive and atmospheric, often pushing against neat genre labels. There’s weight, texture and emotional density in what they do – the kind of heaviness that isn’t just about volume, but mood.
That context makes their choice of cover particularly interesting.
Why This Song, Why Now?
According to drummer Ashley De Beer, the idea of releasing a cover had been floating around the band’s camp for a while. Getting consensus on which track to tackle, however, is usually where things get complicated.
This time, it came together with surprising ease.
Various suggestions were thrown into the mix, many leaning toward gothic or industrial territory. Eventually, the band landed on “I Don’t Wanna Be Me” – a track that, on paper, doesn’t immediately align with Lower Hollow’s established identity.
And that’s precisely why it worked.
Type O Negative aren’t an obvious reference point for Lower Hollow. The contrast made the choice feel fresh rather than predictable.
Leaning Into Contrast, Not Imitation
Any cover of “I Don’t Wanna Be Me” carries the weight of Peter Steele’s unmistakable baritone. His voice was central to Type O Negative’s identity – deep, brooding, instantly recognisable.
Lower Hollow didn’t attempt to replicate that. Instead, they pivoted. Kathryn’s vocal presence occupies a completely different tonal world, and the band chose to embrace that difference rather than compete with it. The result is a version that feels less like homage and more like translation – the same emotional architecture, rebuilt with different materials.
Interestingly, Ashley De Beer notes that the original track was somewhat of an outlier within Type O Negative’s own catalogue – almost a “black sheep” in their discography. For Lower Hollow, however, the song felt naturally aligned with their atmosphere and emotional tone.
That inversion – where the outsider track of one band becomes the natural fit for another – is the kind of artistic symmetry that makes covers worthwhile.
You can buy/stream the track HERE.
Expanding the Edges of Heavy
With this release, Lower Hollow continue to test the elasticity of their sound. Covering a gothic metal staple could have felt nostalgic. Instead, it feels exploratory.
The band aren’t simply paying tribute to a classic. They’re using it as a lens to refract their own identity – pulling familiar material through a distinctly South African, contemporary heavy filter.
In a genre that often prizes authenticity, reinterpretation can be risky. But when it’s done with intention rather than imitation, it becomes something else entirely: a conversation across generations of heavy music.
Lower Hollow’s “I Don’t Wanna Be Me” doesn’t replace the original. It stands beside it – darker in some corners, brighter in others, and undeniably their own.
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